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Published by Reuters By Carl O’Donnell and Ahmed Aboulenein NEW YORK (Reuters) – Within weeks, the Omicron variant has fueled thousands of new COVID-19 hospitalizations among U.S. children, raising new concerns about how the many unvaccinated Americans under the age of 18 will fare in the new surge. The seven-day-average number of daily hospitalizations for children between Dec. 21 and Dec. 27 is up more than 58% nationwide in the past week to 334, compared to around 19% for all age groups, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. Fewer than 25% of the 74 million Americans under 18 are vaccinated, according to the CDC. Omicron cases are expected to surge even faster across the United States as schools reopen next week after the winter holiday, experts cautioned. Doctors say it is too early to determine whether Omicron causes more severe illness in children than other variants of the coronavirus, but that its extremely high transmissibility is one key factor that is driving up hospitalizations. “It is going to infect more people and it is infecting more people. We’ve seen numbers go up, we’ve seen hospitalizations in kids go up,” said Dr. Jennifer Nayak, an infectious disease expert and pediatrician at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “What we are seeing is that children under five remain unvaccinated so there’s still a relatively large population of children who are naive, so they have no preexisting immunity to this virus,” said Nayak. Even in New York City, which has some of the highest vaccination rates in the United States, only around 40% of 5-to-17-year-olds are fully vaccinated compared with more than 80% of adults, city health data shows. There is no authorized vaccine for U.S. children under the age of 5. Hospitalizations in New York City of people aged 18 and younger increased from 22 the week starting Dec. 5 to 109 between Dec. 19 and Dec. 23. Children under the age of 5 represented almost half of the total cases. Hospitalizations of people 18 and under in the entire state were at 184 from Dec. 19 to Dec. 23, up from 70 from Dec. 5 to Dec. 11. Other parts of the United States are also seeing a spike in cases among children. Ohio has seen a 125% increase in hospitalizations among children 17 and under in the past four weeks, according to data from the Ohio Hospital Association. Florida, New Jersey and Illinois have witnessed an increase of at least double in the seven-day average daily hospitalization of underage patients with the coronavirus over the past week, CDC data shows. SLOW UPTAKE Young children have far lower vaccination rates than other age groups, with some families hesitating to introduce a new vaccine to their youngest members. Fewer than 15% of U.S. children aged 5-11 have been fully vaccinated since Pfizer Inc and BioNTech’s COVID-19 shot was authorized for that age group in late October, federal data shows. Doctors said the more severe COVID-19 symptoms they are seeing in hospitalized children this month include difficulty breathing, high fever, and dehydration. “They need help breathing, they need help getting oxygen, they need extra hydration. They are sick enough to end up in the hospital, and that’s scary for doctors, and it’s scary for parents,” said Rebecca Madan, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at New York University’s Langone Health hospital system. The surge in cases occurred as schools closed for the winter holidays. Before the vacation, more than a thousand classrooms have been either fully or partially quarantined due to outbreaks, according to New York City data. The city said it will open schools for about a million children as planned on Jan. 3, following the district’s winter recess. Research has shown that a substantial amount of COVID-19 transmission among children tends to happen outside of schools. But Madan and others expect a new spike in cases among children from holiday gatherings, which could disrupt classroom attendance. “The virus has just been able to outsmart, penetrate beyond, what it is the parents have done to shelter those children,” said William Schaffner, a leading infectious disease expert from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. (Reporting by Carl O’Donnell in New York and Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington D.C.; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Ghislaine Maxwell— who is staring at 65 years in prison after being convicted late Wednesday — faces another investigation into her ties to Jeffrey Epsteinthat could have significant consequences for the high-profile names who escaped scrutiny in the federal trial, Radar can exclusively report. In court documents obtained by Radar, the U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General admitted Maxwell, 60, is being probed for her role in the world’s most heinous sex trafficking ring. Ghislaine Maxwell Verdict Reached: Jeffrey Epstein’s Former Lover Learns Outcome Of Grooming & Trafficking Charges The Virgin Islands prosecution could be a jarring examination of the sick lives of Maxwell and Epstein, unmasking some of the big names that were shielded by federal prosecutors in the Manhattan trial. “Ghislaine is the subject of a local investigation concerning her role in Epstein’s alleged criminal activity and that she has evaded attempts to serve her with a CICO subpoena,” read the recent 12-page filing. Mega Maxwell is accused of luring young girls to Epstein’s estate on Little St. James — also known as “Pedophile Island” — and participating with her one-time lover in the victims’ sexual abuse. Even though Maxwell was found guilty on five of the six charges for recruiting and grooming underage girls, Epstein madam’s fall from grace can be steeper elsewhere — with additional court cases in other jurisdictions. Bill Clinton Gets Shout-Out For Riding Jeffrey Epstein’s Alleged Pedophile ‘Lolita Express’ During Ghislaine Maxwell’s Sex Trafficking Trial The “Orgy Island” probe is particularly troubling for the cabal of Epstein co-conspirators, as it is said to have been ground zero for much of the late billionaire’s abuses and alleged criminal enterprise. Though much of what transpired on the island has remained the subject of rumor, it was Epstein’s main place of residence where he had a dedicated team of workers who trafficked girls as young as 12 to his clients. To get there, Epstein would fly the underage girls into St. Thomas, and then he would ferry them over to his private island via a boat named Lady Ghislaine, one former employee told Bloomberg in 2019. All eyes will be on the V.I. investigation as two of the biggest names in the scandal have been linked to 72-acre pleasure island. Prince Andrew was rumored to have taken part in an orgy with nine girls on the disgraced financier’s private island, his alleged victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who was pictured with the royal’s arm around her waist when she was around 17 years old, said in US court documents. He has denied any wrongdoing. Bill Clinton has been linked to Orgy Island, too. His former top aide, Doug Band, confirmed the ex-President of the United States visited Epstein on the dead pedophile’s private island in the Caribbean in January 2003. Mega While a Clinton spokesperson has denied he never visited the island, according to The Independent, Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jet to Little St. James on two further occasions between 2002 and 2005. According to another former employee, Victoria’s Secret models were among the guests he saw there, and Les Wexner visited the island at least once. Others have made jaunts to the $65 million island, including the late Stephen Hawking. Now that Maxwell has been found guilty of grooming and trafficking young girls for the late accused pedophile financier, the race for justice will now move to V.I. and elsewhere — which could have a devastating impact for some of the terrible twosome’s higher-profile pals. View the full article

Published by Reuters LONDON (Reuters) – Buckingham Palace received a personal appeal from the Dean of Westminster to allow singer Elton John perform at the funeral of Princess Diana, newly released government documents show. Wesley Carr, who himself helped conduct part of the funeral service for Diana at Westminster Abbey after her death in a Paris car crash in August 1997, urged a senior figure in the royal household to include a performance by John, a friend of the princess. “This is a crucial point in the service and we would urge boldness. It is where the unexpected happens and something of the modern world that the princess represented,” Carr wrote in the note released by the National Archives. “I respectfully suggest that anything classical or choral (even a popular classic such as something by [composer Andrew]Lloyd Webber) is inappropriate. Better would be the enclosed song by Elton John (known to millions and his music was enjoyed by the princess), which would be powerful.” Documents show John’s 1970 ballad “Your Song” was initially considered, but Carr noted that the singer’s 1973 ode to Marilyn Monroe “Candle In the Wind” was already “being widely played and sung throughout the nation”. Its performance would be “imaginative and generous to the millions who are feeling personally bereaved”. He added that if the words were “too sentimental” they did not need to be printed in the order of service. There is no detail of any response from the Palace, but John went on to perform the song, with revised lyrics dedicated to “England’s Rose”. It was one of the most poignant moments of the funeral, watched by as many as 2.5 billion people. The re-released version, lamenting a woman’s death at a young age in the pitiless glare of fame, went on to become the second-biggest selling physical single of all time. In 2019, John said he was so worried about getting the words wrong when performing at the funeral that he had a teleprompter installed by the piano. (Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Peter Graff) View the full article

Published by DPA Sascha Disselkamp, promoter of the club Sage Beach, poses for a picture. Several Berlin nightclubs announced their plans to offer vaccinations and booster jabs from Monday, the Club Commission, an umbrella organization for Berlin nightlife venues, announced on Thursday. Britta Pedersen/dpa Several Berlin nightclubs announced their plans to offer vaccinations and booster jabs from Monday, the Club Commission, an umbrella organization for Berlin nightlife venues, announced on Thursday. It is hoped that between January 3 and 9, the clubs will collectively jab some 4,500 people. Appointments can be booked online. “Especially now with Omicron coming up, it counts: Every vaccination administered in time relieves intensive care units and saves lives,” explained Sascha Disselkamp, promoter of the club Sage Beach. “If our clubs can make a contribution to flattening the next wave a little, we’ll be right there,” he added. There is currently a ban on dancing in Berlin clubs. Under these circumstances, almost all venues in the famous party city have opted to closed until further notice. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Ben Platt’s boyfriend Noah Galvin made his rubbish year better. The ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ star praised Noah, 27 for making his year “mostly wonderful” despite the stresses and strains of the year, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Ben, 28, wrote on Instagram: “2021 often deeply sucked and yet he somehow made it mostly wonderful.” In the picture, the actor is embracing his ‘The Good Doctor’ star boyfriend as they wear similar tortoise shell sunglasses and red polo shirts. In addition, the Tony Award winner shared other footage from his romantic getaway with his actor partner, such as frolicking on a jet ski. The pair went public with their relationship in May of this year when Noah discussed it during an appearance on the podcast ‘Little Known Facts With Ilana Levine’ after keeping it secret since they got together in January 2020 after years of friendship. And Ben told Kelly Clarkson: “We’ve been together a year-and-a-half now. We were friends for five years and right before the pandemic, we finally decided to really give it a shot. We kind of skated around it for a long time.” According to Ben, the emergence of the coronavirus caused their romance to speed up from “zero to 60” and they began “living together with my parents in our childhood home and seeing each other all the time”. The ‘Pitch Perfect’ star said: “It ended up being a beautiful time.” He also gushed about his relationship with his boyfriend to OUT magazine, saying that he had a “a partner that I really love, Noah Galvin, my boyfriend”. View the full article

Published by AFP A photo of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein presented as evidence during her trial New York (AFP) – Victims of the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and her former partner, the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein, welcomed a jury’s decision Wednesday finding Maxwell guilty of child sex trafficking. “I am so relieved and grateful that the jury recognized the pattern of predatory behavior that Maxwell engaged in,” said Annie Farmer, one of four victims to testify in the high-profile trial, in a statement on Twitter. “I hope that this verdict brings solace to all who need it and demonstrates that no one is above the law,” said Farmer, who was the only woman not to testify under a pseudonym. “Even those with great power and privilege will be held accountable when they sexually abuse and exploit the young.” The 60-year-old Maxwell, daughter of the late British media baron Robert Maxwell, was found guilty in a Manhattan federal court of a series of sex crimes, the most serious being the sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a maximum 40 year sentence. Four women testified that between 1994 and 2004, Maxwell recruited and groomed them for sex with Epstein. Two of the women were 14 years old at the time. Theresa Helm, another Epstein accuser who did not participate in the trial, described Maxwell as a “master manipulator.” “Ghislaine Maxwell will never again have the opportunity to take anything from anyone. She will reside on the other side of freedom. Us — survivors — we go free,” Helm said in a BBC interview. Epstein committed suicide in prison two years ago while awaiting his own trial for sex crimes. The judge has not yet set a date for Maxwell’s sentencing, but the cumulative penalty for her crimes would likely amount to a life sentence. Her attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, has already stated that they will appeal. Virginia Giuffre, who alleges Epstein lent her out for sex with his wealthy and powerful associates, including Britain’s Prince Andrew welcomed the verdict in a statement on Twitter. Praising Maxwell’s conviction, Giuffre said she “will remember this day always.” “My heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered,” she added. “I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served.” The prince has repeatedly denied the allegations by Giuffre, who is sueing him in the United States, saying he does not remember meeting her and “absolutely and categorically did not have sex with her.” View the full article

Published by AFP US health authorities are now urging Americans to avoid cruising, regardliness of Covid-19 vaccination status New York (AFP) – US health authorities on Thursday urged Americans to avoid cruise travel even if they are vaccinated, citing the surge in Covid-19 cases spurred by the Omicron variant. “Avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status,” said a posting on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website that upgraded the travel notice on cruising to Level 4, the highest on its Covid risk scale. “Even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants,” the notice said. Between December 15 and 29, there were 5,013 Covid cases in US waters reported to the CDC, 31 times the level in the prior two weeks, according to an email from a CDC spokesperson. The agency recommends mitigation steps that include getting vaccinated and boosted, wearing a mask in indoor settings and taking a test before gathering. “The virus that causes Covid-19 spreads easily between people in close quarters on board ships, and the chance of getting Covid-19 on cruise ships is very high, even if you are fully vaccinated and have received a Covid-19 vaccine booster dose,” the CDC said. The surge in fresh cases linked to the highly-transmissible Omicron variant has raised fresh challenges for the cruise industry, which resumed service in the United States this summer after being essentially dormant for more than a year. On Thursday, Royal Caribbean modified or cancelled 16 destinations out of 331 due to the uptick in Covid cases. Shares of Royal Caribbean dipped 0.2 percent in afternoon trading. Shares of Carnival fell 0.6 percent in early afternoon trading, while Norwegian Cruise Line dropped 1.5 percent. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Alexandra Ulmer (Reuters) – Former Republican President Donald Trump’s recent comments touting COVID-19 vaccines as safe and a major achievement of his presidency have roiled extreme anti-vaxers, which include many of his ardent supporters. After months of a relatively low profile on vaccines and no photos of him getting inoculated, Trump on Dec. 19 told former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly during an event in Dallas that he’d received the booster – eliciting some boos from the audience. In an interview with right-wing pundit Candace Owens released two days later, Trump pushed back when Owens suggested the shots were not safe. “Oh no, the vaccine works,” Trump interrupted Owens, who said she was not vaccinated. “The ones that get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take the vaccine.” While in both cases Trump stressed that he is against Democratic President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates, his comments have stoked rare criticism from anti-vaccine activists and some supporters. The controversy highlights the balancing act Trump might face in a potential 2024 presidential run: He will have to energize his base, for many of whom opposition to vaccines has become a rallying cry, without repelling moderate suburbanites. Conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones said on his talk show that by touting the vaccine, Trump was either “completely ignorant” or “one of the most evil men who has ever lived.” He said it was time “to move on” from Trump and also threatened to “dish all the dirt” on the former president. Radio host Wayne Allyn Root, a staunch Trump supporter, said the former president was “right on everything” except the vaccines, and needed an “intervention.” In a statement to Reuters, Root stressed he would always be a Trump supporter and that by “intervention” he simply meant a chance to convince Trump to “alter” his message. A Trump representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There was no immediate reply to requests for comments from representatives for Jones or Owens. On right-wing social media groups, some Trump voters argue that he is acting strategically to keep hostile media at bay. Others, however, are professing dismay. “I no longer can support him,” Daniel McLean, 42, who works in the cannabis industry in Oregon, said in an interview. McLean said he had steadily grown disappointed with what he views as Trump’s embrace of the political establishment. The pro-vaccine comments were a tipping point, added McLean, who said he was not inoculated and repeated debunked theories about thousands of people dying from the shots. Republicans and Republican-leaning independents now account for 60% of unvaccinated adult Americans, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis. That makes Trump’s comments all the more surprising, said Republican Martin Hyde, who is running as a challenger to Florida Congressman Vern Buchanan in the 2022 elections. “I don’t think that’s a message which will resonate with the base,” Hyde told Reuters. GRUMBLING AND GRIPING? Trump continues to have a near-iron grip on Republican voters. Candidates in the 2022 midterm elections are vying for his endorsements; he is the clear favorite for the 2024 presidential race; and he is preparing to launch a social media site that has reportedly entered into agreements to raise about $1 billion. “I’m with Trump all the way,” wrote a user under the name Crockett on a Telegram app chat about Trump’s vaccine comments. “Trump knows things we don’t.” There is no polling yet to ascertain whether Trump’s vaccine comments have hurt his standing with the base. Nicholas Valentino, a professor specializing in political psychology at the University of Michigan, said it is unlikely to create a serious rift. “The more extreme faction in this group doesn’t have anywhere else to go politically,” said Valentino. McLean in Oregon, for instance, said he still prefers Trump over Biden. Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a key Trump ally, on Monday appeared to try to smooth over the issue, urging supporters to focus on COVID-19 originating in China. “We should be holding those who made the virus accountable, not fighting one another,” she said on Twitter. Still, Ron Filipkowski, a former federal prosecutor and Trump critic who monitors the extreme right, said Trump going out of his way to tout the vaccines has sent “shockwaves” through his base. “A year ago, you would never hear any dissent whatsoever among them,” said Filipkowski. “Now you’re at least hearing the grumbling and the griping. And that’s definitely new.” (Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Dan Grebler) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. health experts on Thursday urged Americans to prepare for severe disruptions in coming weeks as the rising wave of COVID-19 cases led by the Omicron variant threatened hospitals, schools and other sectors impacting their daily lives. The warning came amid record U.S. COVID-19 cases, while federal officials issued more travel warnings and reportedly prepared to authorize booster shots for 12 to 15-year-olds next week. For the second day in a row, the United States had a record number of new cases based on the seven-day average, with more than 290,000 new infections reported each day, a Reuters tally showed. At least 18 states and Puerto Rico have set pandemic records for new cases, according to the tally. Maryland, Ohio and Washington, D.C., also saw record hospitalizations as overall U.S. COVID-19 hospitalizations rose 27%. The surge comes amid increased holiday travel, with New Year’s celebrations still to come, and as schools grapple with students’ return to classrooms following winter breaks. “We are going to see the number of cases in this country rise so dramatically, we are going to have a hard time keeping everyday life operating,” Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, told MSNBC. “The next month is going to be a viral blizzard,” he said. “All of society is going to be pressured by this.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease official, on Wednesday said cases will likely rise throughout January. He and other U.S. health officials have said early data show Omicron appears less severe but have continued to push vaccinations, masks and physical distancing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also issued new guidelines shortening isolation and quarantine periods, which have been criticized by some disease experts. The New York Times reported on Thursday that U.S. health regulators planned to approve a third vaccine dose for 12 to 15-year-olds next week. Boosters are already approved for those 16 and older. With testing shortages and breakthrough cases, experts warn the surge will still upend hospitals, emergency response services, schools and retailers, among others, in coming weeks. “We have to be really careful about being too dismissive of Omicron,” Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN. Rising hospitalizations as healthcare workers are sidelined with their own COVID-19 infections is also concerning, as are fewer effective therapeutics, Hotez said. “We’re in for a pretty serious time.” Already, 825,663 people have died in the United States from COVID-19 since early 2020, data showed, with the latest wave of hospitalizations driven by those not vaccinated. President Joe Biden this month announced new plans to combat Omicron, including federal reinforcements for hospitals and more tests. But some experts have said it is too little, too late. ‘BETTER TOOLS’ So far, however, the economy appears steady even as some economists express caution. While airline travel has been widely disrupted and some hard-hit areas have seen shuttered businesses and canceled events, other measures of activity – such as holiday sales – have held up. The labor market also is holding its ground. New claims for state unemployment benefits fell last week to their lowest level of the pandemic, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Cruise operators took a hit on Thursday, however, after the CDC warned people to avoid cruises regardless of their vaccination status amid a growing number of outbreaks onboard. Still, Jason Greenberg, head of economics at Homebase, which tracks data for about 50,000 small businesses, told Reuters he expects the first week of January to be slower than projected before Omicron but that the rest of the month “will likely depend” on what policies states and cities enact and how cases unfold. How schools handle the surge is also key, especially for working parents, with systems in Washington and New York vowing to stay open with more testing. “We can’t shut down our city again,” New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams said while unveiling his plan on Thursday to fight COVID-19 while keeping the country’s most populous city open for business. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona acknowledged staffing woes but urged schools to keep kids in classrooms. Unlike last year’s shutdowns, “we have better tools now. They should remain open,” he told MSNBC, adding that federal funds remain available to bolster staffing and testing. Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers union, separately told MSNBC schools should remain open but some localities may not be able to do so and may need remote options. Meanwhile, some U.S. colleges have delayed their next semesters or shifted online. Things should thaw after January, as testing shortages ease and recently-approved medicines become more widely available, experts said. “We do have light at the end of the tunnel,” Osterholm said. “But for right now, you’re going to have to hunker down.” (This story refiles to correct spelling of last name in paragraphs 12-13) (Reporting by Susan Heavey; additional reporting by Dan Burns, Lisa Shumaker, Ankir Banerjee, Nathan Layne; Editing by Dan Grebler and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Hyunjoo Jin SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Tesla Inc is recalling more than 475,000 of its Model 3 and Model S electric cars to address rearview camera and trunk issues that increase the risk of crashing, the U.S. road safety regulator said on Thursday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been discussing another camera issue with the automaker, while probing the company’s driver assistant system. The model years affected in the recall range from 2014 to 2021, and the total number of recalled vehicles is almost equivalent to the half a million vehicles Tesla delivered last year. The U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer is recalling 356,309 2017-2020 Model 3 vehicles to address rearview camera issues and 119,009 Model S vehicles due to front hood problems, the federal regulator said. Tesla could not be reached for comment. For Model 3 sedans, “the rearview camera cable harness may be damaged by the opening and closing of the trunk lid, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying,” the NHTSA said. Tesla identified 2,301 warranty claims and 601 field reports regarding the issue for U.S. vehicles. For Model S vehicles, latch problems may lead a front trunk to open “without warning and obstruct the driver’s visibility, increasing the risk of a crash,” Tesla said. Tesla said it was not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths related to the issues cited in the recall of Model 3 and Model S cars, the NHTSA said. Tesla shares fell as much as 3% in the morning but rebounded and were last trading slightly higher around $1,088.76. The world’s most valuable automaker is expected to report record quarterly vehicles deliveries as early as Saturday. CAMERA ISSUE This month, the NHTSA said it was talking with Tesla about sideview camera issues in some vehicles. [L1N2SU2EA] CNBC had reported that Tesla was replacing defective repeater cameras in the front fenders of some U.S.-made vehicles without recalling the parts. The NHTSA has been investigating 580,000 Tesla vehicles over the automaker’s decision to allow games to be played on car screens while they are in motion. Tesla has subsequently agreed to remove such gaming features while its cars are moving, according to the NHTSA. Under pressure from NHTSA, Tesla in February agreed to recall 135,000 vehicles with touch-screen displays that could fail and raise the risk of a crash. In August, the NHTSA opened a formal safety probe into Tesla Inc’s driver assistance system Autopilot after a series of crashes involving Tesla models and emergency vehicles. (Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by David Clarke, Anil D’Silva, Alistair Bell and David Gregorio) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Betty White has joked that Ryan Reynolds can’t get over her. The 99-year-old actress starred alongside Ryan, 45, and Sandra Bullock, 57, in 2009 movie ‘The Proposal’ and quipped that Ryan – who is married to Blake Lively – has a huge crush on her but she has her eye on another actor. She told PEOPLE: “I’ve heard Ryan can’t get over his thing for me but Robert Redford is The One.” Ryan said he has been a fan of Betty “for as long as I can remember” and joked she is “a typical Capricorn. Sleeps all day. Out all night boozing and snacking on men.” He also praised her work in sitcom ‘Golden Girls’, saying: “I heard that scripts for Golden Girls were only 35 pages, which makes sense because so many of the laughs come from Betty simply looking at her castmates.” Sandra added: “Timing isn’t easy in comedy, because you have to navigate other people’s timing. Betty pivots like I have never seen, making it look seamless. The rest of us just remain silent and pray we’re not cut out of the scene.” Betty – who will turn 100 on January 17 – said she feels lucky to be in such good health at her advanced age. She explained: “I’m so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age. It’s amazing.” Betty was “born a cockeyed optimist” and she thinks that’s the key to her positive outlook. She said: “I got it from my mom, and that never changed. I always find the positive.” Betty also thinks that her diet is one of the keys to her good health. She quipped: “I try to avoid anything green. I think it’s working.” View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) -The average number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States hit a record high of 258,312 over the past seven days, a Reuters tally showed on Wednesday, as U.S. officials weigh the impact of the more transmissible Omicron variant. The previous peak for the seven-day moving average was 250,141 confirmed cases recorded on Jan. 8 of this year. Daily records were broken this week in at least seven European nations. The surge comes as Americans travel over the holidays. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled across the country each day since Christmas as airline staff test positive for the coronavirus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was monitoring 86 cruise ships that have reported COVID-19 cases. While some data from other countries showed less disease with Omicron, it was too early to gauge the impact across the United States, particularly given its uneven vaccination rates, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday. Still, she noted in a call with reporters that while the seven-day daily average of positive cases is up 60% over the previous week, the hospitalization rate for the same period is up only 14%, to about 9,000 per day. Deaths were down about 7% to 1,100 per day, she said. More than 76,000 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 nationwide, up 19% in the past 10 days, according to a Reuters tally. The CDC released new guidance this week shortening the isolation period for people with a confirmed infection to five days from 10, so long as they are asymptomatic. The move was partly designed to ease staff shortages in hospitals, airlines and other vital services. Some infectious disease experts, however, have faulted the policy for not distinguishing between vaccinated and unvaccinated people, who recover from the virus at different rates. The new policy also does not require testing to confirm that a person is no longer infectious before they go back to work or socialize. States showing the highest daily infection numbers on Tuesday included New York, which reported 40,780 cases, and California, which reported over 30,000. Texas reported more than 17,000 cases and Ohio over 15,000. The Omicron variant was estimated to account for 58.6% of U.S. infections as of Dec. 25, according to CDC data released on Tuesday. (Reporting by Alexandra Alper and Susan Heavey in Washington, Lisa Shumaker and Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago, Aparupa Mazumder in Bengaluru; Writing by Keith Weir and Jonathan Allen; Editing by Gareth Jones, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter and Richard Chang) View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration plans to announce on Wednesday a $137 million contract for Millipore Sigma, a unit of Germany’s Merck KGaA, to boost production capacity of a highly constrained component of rapid coronavirus tests, a senior administration official told Reuters. The money will allow the company over three years to build a new facility to produce nitrocellulose membranes, the paper that displays test results, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. That, in turn, will allow for 85 million more tests to be produced per month, the official said. It was not immediately clear when the facility would ramp up to full production. “It’s probably the most constrained piece of technology in expanding capacity, in making more of these over-the-counter or point-of-care tests,” the official said. “This amount they’re going to produce is roughly equivalent to another billion over-the-counter tests being able to be made,” he added. Millipore Sigma is a supplier to major U.S. COVID-19 antigen test manufacturers, he said, without providing further details. The contract, which will be announced by the Department of Defense for the Department of Health and Human Services, is part of a bid by the Biden administration to ramp up production of scarce rapid COVID-19 tests, which has taken on more urgency as nations grapple with the highly infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The average number of daily COVID-19 cases in the United States has hit a record high of 258,312 over the past seven days, according to a Reuters tally. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden announced a plan to distribute 500 million at-home coronavirus test kits to help address the crisis, building on prior pledges to invest $3 billion in test kits. But U.S. testing is behind the curve because of a lack of skilled workers, a shortage of at-home tests and under-investment in recent months, and health experts in the U.S. said Biden’s latest plan was “too little, too late.” The government is invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to award the contract and has many more similar contracts in the works, the official said. The Biden administration has used the DPA – a 1950s Korean war-era law which gives federal agencies the power to prioritize procurement orders related to national defense – to speed production of swabs and pipettes for COVID-19 test production previously. (Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Additional Reporting by Carl O’Donnell; Editing by Chris Reese) View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Sarah Jessica Parker is pissed, and it’s not just because the Sex and the City reboot won’t be getting a season 2. The 56-year-old actress is reportedly “livid” with her co-star Chris Noth after several women accused him of sexual assault. “She is fiercely protective of Carrie Bradshaw and livid that she and everyone else at the show has been put into this position,” an insider spilled to Us Weekly. SJP believes his accusations tarnish their show’s legacy. ‘Sex And The City’ Dead: Talks Of Another Season Abruptly End “It is not about the money, but rather her legacy,” they explained. “Carrie was all about helping women and now, under her watch, women are saying that they have been hurt.” The source claims SJP isn’t just mourning Mr. Big’s death. Chris Noth Fired From ‘The Equalizer’ After Third Accuser Comes Forward With Sexual Assault Allegations HBO Max The actress “feels like there has been two deaths” in her life. Several women came forward with sexual assault accusations against Noth after the And Just Like That… reboot began streaming on HBO Max. “She takes the power of being Carrie Bradshaw very seriously. With great power comes great responsibility and although SJP knows this is about him, not her, she feels like she has let everyone down,” the insider revealed, adding she had “no idea” about the alleged incidents and was completely “blindsided” by the allegations. As Radar exclusively reported, all talks about a second season are dead and buried in the wake of the piling allegations against Noth. “There was so much excitement around the show that a second season was all-but-guaranteed. There had even been discussions about how Kim Cattrall’s character, Samantha Jones, could return from London and join the ladies again. Cast and crew members were all leaving their spring schedules open as they were sure they would be shooting again. However, suddenly all those conversations have gone silent,” sources tell Radar. “After Chris (Noth) and the negative critical response to the show, it is dead. There will be no more.” The Hollywood Reporter first broke the allegations against Noth. Two women using fake names came forward accusing the actor of sexual assault in 2004 and 2015. One of the women alleged Noth raped her in his Los Angeles apartment. The other claimed the actor “pretty forcibly” had sex with her after they met in an NYC nightclub in 2015. They aren’t the only women with accusations against him. Since THR’s story, more women have come against the star. Noth has denied any wrongdoing, claiming, “the accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross.” MEGA View the full article

Published by Reuters By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) -Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty by a U.S. jury on Wednesday of helping the late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls, sealing a remarkable fall from grace for the British socialite. Maxwell, 60, was accused of recruiting and grooming https://www.reuters.com/world/us/opening-statements-ghislaine-maxwell-sex-abuse-case-set-begin-2021-11-29 four teenagers for Epstein between 1994 and 2004. Her former boyfriend Epstein killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges of his own. She was convicted on five of six counts. After the verdict was read, Maxwell pulled down her face mask and poured herself a glass of water. The jury deliberated for five full days before reaching the verdict. Along with the trials of movie producer Harvey Weinstein and singer R. Kelly, Maxwell’s case is among the highest-profile trials to take place in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to speak out about sexual abuse by famous and powerful people. During the trial’s closing arguments in federal court in Manhattan a prosecutor said Maxwell was Epstein’s “partner in crime https://www.reuters.com/world/us/closing-arguments-ghislaine-maxwells-sex-abuse-trial-kick-off-2021-12-20.” “Ghislaine Maxwell made her own choices. She committed crimes hand in hand with Jeffrey Epstein. She was a grown woman who knew exactly what she was doing,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe said. Maxwell’s attorneys argued she was being used as a scapegoat for Epstein and sought to portray the accounts of her four accusers as not credible, saying their memories had been corrupted over the decades and that they were motivated by money. “Epstein’s death left a gaping hole in the pursuit of justice for many of these women,” Maxwell’s defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim said. “She’s filling that hole, and filling that empty chair.” Maxwell dated Epstein for several years in the 1990s, when the pair attended high society parties and traveled on luxurious private jets. A few months after Epstein’s death, Maxwell purchased a home https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-ghislaine-maxwell-bradford/a-good-place-to-hide-new-hampshire-locals-had-no-idea-jeffrey-epstein-ally-holed-up-nearby-idUSKBN2433D5 for $1 million in cash in Bradford, New Hampshire where she remained out of the limelight until her July 2020 arrest. An FBI official said Maxwell had “slithered away.” Daughter of British press baron Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine Maxwell had been accustomed to opulence all her life. Her father founded a publishing house and owned tabloids including the Daily Mirror. He was found dead off his yacht near the Canary Islands in 1991. GRAPHIC TESTIMONY During the trial, jurors heard emotional and graphic testimony from four women, two of whom said they were 14 when Epstein began abusing them. Three of the women said Maxwell herself had inappropriately touched them. The jury requested transcripts of the four women’s testimony during their deliberations, suggesting the jurors discussed the women’s accounts before reaching the verdict. A woman known by the pseudonym Jane testified that she was 14 when Epstein first abused her in 1994. Maxwell sometimes took part in her sexual encounters with Epstein and acted as if it was normal, Jane testified. “It made me feel confused because that did not feel normal to me,” Jane said. “I’d never seen anything like this or felt anything like this.” Moe said during her closing argument that Maxwell’s presence made young girls feel comfortable with Epstein. Otherwise, receiving an invitation to spend time with a middle-aged man would have seemed “creepy” and “set off alarm bells,” Moe said. “Epstein could not have done this alone,” she said. Moe reminded jurors of bank records they saw at trial showing that Epstein paid Maxwell millions of dollars over the years. She said Maxwell was motivated to do whatever it took to keep Epstein happy in order to maintain her luxurious lifestyle. Defense attorney Laura Menninger countered during closing arguments that Maxwell was an “innocent woman” and that prosecutors had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Maxwell was aware of or involved in any crimes Epstein committed. “They certainly proved to you that Epstein had abused his money and his power,” Menninger said. “That has nothing to do with Ghislaine, and everything to do with Jeffrey Epstein.” Maxwell’s lawyers aggressively pushed back on the accusers’ accounts during the trial, arguing that their stories had shifted over the years. Under cross-examination by Menninger, Jane acknowledged that she did not initially tell the FBI everything about Maxwell’s involvement because she was not comfortable sharing all the details. “I was sitting in a room full of strangers and telling them the most shameful, deepest secrets that I’d been carrying around with me my whole life,” she said. Maxwell’s defense said the women were motivated by money to implicate Maxwell since all four had received million-dollar awards from a compensation fund for Epstein’s victims. “The money brought the accusers to the FBI,” Menninger said, saying the women were accompanied by personal injury lawyers to interviews with law enforcement agents. “Memories have been manipulated in aid of the money.” But the women disputed those characterizations, saying they decided to testify out of a desire for justice, not money. “Money will not ever fix what that woman has done to me,” testified one woman, known by her first name Carolyn. (Reporting by Luc CohenEditing by Noeleen Walder and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Harry Reid, the pugnacious son of a Nevada hard-rock miner who rose from poverty to become the U.S. Senate majority leader and earned a reputation as a fierce partisan fighter during an era of political gridlock in Washington, died on Tuesday. He was 82. Reid, a former amateur boxer who represented Nevada in the U.S. Congress as a Democrat for more than three decades, died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, his wife of 62 years, Landra, said in a statement. “I’ve had the honor of serving with some of the all-time great Senate Majority Leaders in our history. Harry Reid was one of them. And for Harry, it wasn’t about power for power’s sake. It was about the power to do right for the people,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a written statement. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said late on Tuesday that the country had lost an honorable public servant, adding that the Reid made a meaningful difference in people’s lives. “Harry Reid rose through the ranks in Washington, becoming Senate Majority Leader, but he never forgot his humble beginnings in Searchlight, Nevada – and he always fought for working families and the poor,” Harris said in a separate written statement. As majority leader, Reid served as President Barack Obama’s point man in the Senate and helped secure congressional passage of Obama’s signature healthcare law, known as Obamacare, in 2010 over furious Republican opposition. Obama on Tuesday posted to social media a recent letter he had written to Reid: “You were a great leader in the Senate, and early on you were more generous to me than I had any right to expect,” Obama said in the letter. “I wouldn’t have been president had it not been for your encouragement and support, and I wouldn’t have got most of what I got done without your skill and determination.” Reid retired in 2016, one year after suffering broken ribs and facial bones and injuring an eye in an accident while exercising at home. He had ascended to the job of majority leader in 2007 despite being a political moderate who differed from many in his party on abortion, the environment and gun control. In that job Reid regularly clashed with the Republicans and maintained poor relations with the opposition party’s leaders. “I always would rather dance than fight but I know how to fight,” Reid said in 2004, in a reference to his boxing career. In 2012, Mitch McConnell, then the Senate’s top Republican, labeled Reid “the worst leader in the Senate ever” while Reid accused McConnell of a breach of faith on an important issue. During Reid’s time as majority leader, major legislation languished because Democrats and Republicans could not compromise. His relationship with McConnell was so strained that the Republican leader shunned Reid during crucial U.S. fiscal policy talks and dealt directly with Vice President Joe Biden. “The nature of Harry’s and my jobs brought us into frequent and sometimes intense conflict over politics and policy. But I never doubted that Harry was always doing what he earnestly, deeply felt was right for Nevada and our country. He will rightly go down in history as a crucial, pivotal figure in the development and history of his beloved home state,” McConnell said in a written statement. In 2013, fed up with Republican procedural moves blocking Obama’s judicial and executive branch nominees, Reid pushed through the Senate a historic change to the Senate’s filibuster rules, preventing a minority party from blocking presidential appointments except those to the Supreme Court. Republicans said the move was a naked power grab. Reid was first elected to the House in 1982 and was sent to the Senate by Nevada voters in 1986. He showed remarkable resilience, fighting off spirited re-election challenges. HUMBLE ORIGINS Tact was not Reid’s strong suit. He called Republican President George W. Bush a “loser” and “liar” and said Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan was “one of the biggest political hacks we have in Washington.” He apologized in 2010 for referring to Obama, the first black U.S. president, in private conversations two years earlier as “light-skinned” with “no Negro dialect,” saying, “I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words.” Reid became a Mormon as a young man and eventually became the highest-ranking member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in U.S. public office. During the 2012 presidential race, Reid became a Democratic attack dog, accusing Obama’s Republican challenger Mitt Romney of paying no federal income taxes for 10 years. Romney insisted he paid “all the taxes required by law.” Harry Mason Reid was born into a poor family in the tiny desert mining town of Searchlight, Nevada, on Dec. 2, 1939. His father was a miner with an eighth-grade education who committed suicide in 1972. His mother, who never finished high school, took in laundry from brothels to help out financially. The family lived in a small cabin with no indoor plumbing, hot water or telephone. “I learned in America, it doesn’t matter the education of your parents, what their religion is or isn’t, their social status – we had none – the color of their skin or their economic status. I am an example of this. If I made it, anyone can,” Reid said in 2007. Reid attended a two-room school through eighth grade, then hitchhiked 40 miles (64 km) each week to high school, boarding with local families before hitchhiking home each weekend. He graduated from Utah State University in 1961 and then worked nights as a U.S. Capitol policeman while he attended law school at George Washington University in Washington. He earned his law degree in 1964 and moved back to Nevada. Reid was a trial lawyer and held various Nevada state offices. He headed the Nevada Gaming Commission from 1977 to 1981. In the Senate, Reid won passage of an ethics measure barring senators from accepting gifts, meals or trips from lobbyists in 2007. He voted for Iraq war resolutions in 1991 and 2002. While Reid remained a backer of the first Iraq war, he reversed himself and opposed the second one, accusing Bush’s administration of misleading the nation into it. Reid and his wife, Landra, had five children. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Additional reporting by Eric Beech, Dan Whitcomb and Moira Warburton and Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Sandra Maler and Raju Gopalakrishnan) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Billie Lourd has described her grief over Carrie Fisher’s death as a “multi course meal with many complicated ingredients”. The 19-year-old actress – whose late mother died aged 60 on December 27, 2016 – paid tribute to the ‘Star Wars’ icon on the anniversary of her passing and revealed everyone deals with things as their own pace. Alongside an adorable throwback photo of her, Carrie and a koala bear, she wrote: “People always ask me what stage of grief I’m in. And my answer is never simple. “I’m in a different stage of grief in each moment of every day. My grief is a multi course meal with many complicated ingredients. “An amuse bouche of bargaining followed by an anger appetizer with a side of depression, acceptance for the entree and of course a little denial for dessert. “And that’s how grief should be – all things all at once – actually there is no “should” in grief – grief just is whatever it is for you and that is how it “should be”.” Billie celebrated Christmas in Australia with her fiance Austen Rydell and their 15-month-old son Kingston, and she referenced her arrangement in the tribute to Carrie. She added: “What better thing to post for my Momby’s Australian death anniversary (4 words I never thought I’d be putting next to each other?!?) than this picture of her and I with a koala!? sending my love to anyone out there who needs it (sic)” She also marked five years since her mum’s death as she teamed up with Kaitlyn Dever and Mady Dever on a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s track ‘Landslide’. She wrote: “We loved to sing. We loved Fleetwood Mac. We loved this song. It echoed in our living room throughout my childhood, playing slightly too loudly as she scribbled her marvelous manic musings on yellow legal pads (google them if you don’t know them – they’re the iPads of the past and are still pretty damn hip if you ask me). “I didn’t know who to be or what to do after my mom died. I was afraid of changing because I had built my life around her. Then she was gone. “And I had to rebuild my life without her. And it wasn’t (and still isn’t) easy. But time has made me bolder. I never stop missing her but I have gotten stronger with each passing year.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Madonna has accused Tory Lanez of ripping off her 1985 hit ‘Into The Groove’. The Queen of Pop is not happy with the 29-year-old rapper’s “illegal” interpolation of her track, seemingly referring to the latter’s recent song ‘Pluto’s Last Comet’ from his LP ‘Alone at Prom’. The 63-year-old music legend commented on Lanez’s recent Instagram post: “Read your messages [f]or illegal usage of my song get into the groove!”, suggesting she has contacted him directly on the social media app. At the time of writing, it’s not known if the ‘Like a Virgin’ hitmaker will be making a formal complaint. Lanez has been in hot water of late. Last month, the Canadian record producer was told he won’t be offered a plea deal in a felony case for allegedly shooting Megan Thee Stallion. The ‘Say It’ rapper was accused by the ‘WAP’ hitmaker of shooting her in the foot after a party at Kylie Jenner’s house in July 2020. The music star – whose real name is Daystar Peterson – has been charged with felony assault. At a preliminary hearing on December 14, it was claimed Lanez shouted “dance, b****” before shooting Megan. Los Angeles detective Ryan Stogner told the courtroom in his testimony that “as she exited the vehicle, she heard Mr Peterson yelling obscenities at her, and he stated, ‘Dance, b****!’ and he then began firing a weapon at her.” Megan “immediately felt pain to her feet, observed blood, fell to the ground, and then crawled to an adjacent driveway of a residence.” He added: “She described her injuries as bleeding profusely.” He added: “Megan stated the defendant apologised for doing it and offered her money and begged her to please not say anything and made a reference to the fact he was already on probation.” Lanez is facing two felony charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, as well as the charge of having “personally inflicted great bodily injury”. If he is convicted on all charges, he could spend more than 22 years in Jail. Lanez is due to return to court next month. The ‘Broke in a Minute’ hitmaker previously pleaded not guilty to the charges last November and his lawyer, Shawn Holley, previously insisted “meaningful discussions” with prosecutors about a plea deal hadn’t affected that. She said: “As in every case, the lawyers for the parties discuss the possibility of resolving the case. This case is no different. That said, our position as to what did and did not happen in this matter remains unchanged, and Mr. Peterson’s plea of not guilty stands.” In January, Lanez’s team filed a motion asking for an amendment to a protective order surrounding the case because he wasn’t allowed to speak publicly about the dispute, but a judge ruled that the order must stay in place as it is. During a hearing at the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles, his lawyer argued the protective order was “unfair” because it doesn’t apply to Megan. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gram Slattery and Augustin Geist RIO DE JANEIRO/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Throughout much of 2020 and early 2021, South America was ground zero in the global fight against COVID-19. Oxygen ran low in Peru. Gravediggers worked through the night in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Bodies were stuffed into shipping containers in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, saw its COVID-19 death toll rise to the second-highest in the world, while Argentina and Peru reported some of the heaviest death per capita figures anywhere. But in recent months, despite patchy health services and lower income levels than in Europe or the United States, the region has emerged as a surprise winner in the vaccination race. South America is now the most vaccinated region in the world, with 63.3% of the population fully inoculated, according to the Our World in Data project, which collects official numbers from governments worldwide. Europe comes in second with 60.7%. In Africa, just 8.8% of the population has completed a full vaccination regimen. Infection and death rates have plummeted compared to the middle of the year when Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for almost half of global deaths and infections. Now it is Europe where – due to the spread of the Omicron variant – contagion is rebounding. Epidemiologists point to several factors to explain the speedy vaccination drive. But the most important, they say, has been decades of successful inoculation campaigns that have created the infrastructure needed to deliver jabs en masse, while instilling trust among the population. In Brazil, successful inoculation drives in the last half century against smallpox, meningitis, polio and measles means that very few people are opposed to vaccines, said Paulo Lotufo, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Sao Paulo. In some major cities, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, over 99% of the adult population has received at least one dose, authorities say. Brazilians commonly claim with pride that the nation has a “cultura de vacinacao,” or “vaccine culture.” The same can be said for several other nations in the region, which have previously launched expansive inoculation campaigns after traumatic infectious disease outbreaks in recent decades. “This confidence, built up over several years, is based on the benefits of our extensive vaccination schedule,” said Leda Guzzi, a Buenos Aires-based infectious disease expert. Effective public health messaging has been key, too, said Albert Ko, a professor at the Yale School of Public Health and a collaborating researcher at Rio de Janeiro’s Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. In Brazil, for instance, a mascot resembling a docile white droplet, known as “Zé Gotinha,” has been heavily used by health officials to promote the vaccine, even as President Jair Bolsonaro has himself declined to be jabbed. Earlier this year, baile funk star MC Fioti released a viral video with a modified version of one of his hits in association with the Butantan biomedical institute in Sao Paulo promoting the vaccine. STORM CLOUDS GATHER The region, however, is far from out of the woods, particularly as the Omicron variant spreads across the globe. Even with an impressive 63.3% of the population vaccinated, the region remains below the threshold that most scientists say is needed to offer mass protection. Omicron is now raging in much of Europe despite similar levels of inoculation. Among children, vaccination rates also vary dramatically from country to country in Latin America, with authorities in Mexico and Brazil relatively slow to approve shots for minors. Another potential issue is the vaccines used. Many countries, such as Chile, Uruguay and Brazil, relied heavily on Coronavac, a vaccine produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd, particularly in the initial phase of their vaccination drives. While the vaccine is credited with getting jabs into arms quickly, its efficacy is lower than that of its peers, and at least one initial study has indicated it may not produce antibodies against the Omicron variant. Earlier in December, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that recipients of Sinovac – as well as all other “inactivated” vaccines – should get boosted. Epidemiologists also say, Omicron may be more adept at dodging the immunity generated by previous COVID-19 infections. That could be bad news in a region where the virus ripped through entire neighborhoods in earlier stages of the pandemic. “Many people, particularly in vulnerable communities in Brazil, have been infected,” said Ko, the Yale epidemiologist. “We see this virus infecting people who had already gotten infected before.” (Reporting by Gram Slattery in Rio de Janeiro and Agustin Geist in Buenos Aires, additional reporting by Diego Ore and Dave Graham in Mexico City and Oliver Griffin in Bogota; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Cynthia Nixon only agreed to star only agreed to star in the ‘Sex and the City’ sequel series if show bosses fixed the “lack of diversity” on the show. The 55-year-old actress has reprised her role as Miranda Hobbes in ‘And Just Like That…’ but has admitted that she was “reluctant” to return to the character unless things were changed from the original show. Cynthia told Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper: “It was a very hard decision. I really didn’t think I was going to do it – I was very reluctant. But the more I talked to Sarah Jessica (Parker), (writer-creator) Michael Patrick King, and Kristin (Davis), about the things I couldn’t go back without – a real sea change in terms of the lack of diversity in the original series, they were on board. “I was floored by how hard everybody listened, and how collaboratively we worked together to, not just redecorate the house, but to build a whole new house – that had us in it but new characters, too.” Sarah and Kristin have reprised their roles as Carrie Bradshaw and Charlotte York Goldenblatt respectively – although Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones does not feature in ‘And Just Like That…’ – and Cynthia has enjoyed exploring the characters as older women and the challenges that go with ageing. She said: “The characters are 55 so they’re in menopause. And menopause is the punchline of a lot of jokes and certainly has its unpleasant aspects. But it’s a time when women have spent decades looking after other people and can again focus on themselves: who am I? Who do I want to be?” Cynthia added that she is “very proud” of the original ‘Sex and the City’ series – which aired between 1998 and 2004 – but admits that she wants to known for more than her role as Miranda. The ‘Ratched’ actress said: “I’m very proud of the original series – despite it being occasionally tone deaf on race and gender – and being Miranda has opened up so many amazing roles for me over the years, but the further I get away from Miranda, the better they get, because people have stopped thinking of me as just that one character. “But ‘Sex and the City’ gave me an adult career. And I’ll always be grateful for that.” View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) -The Omicron variant was estimated to be 58.6% of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States for the week ending Dec. 25, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The fast-spreading variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong in November, with the first known case in the United States identified on Dec. 1 in a fully vaccinated person who had traveled to South Africa. The agency also revised down the Omicron proportion for the week ending Dec. 18 to 22% from 73%, saying that there was a wide predictive interval posted in last week’s chart, in part because of the speed at which Omicron was increasing. The Delta variant accounts for 41.1% of all U.S. COVID-19 cases as of Dec. 25, according to the public health agency’s data on Tuesday https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions. Former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on Twitter https://twitter.com/ScottGottliebMD/status/1475848395768086529 that if the CDC’s new estimate of Omicron prevalence is precise then it suggests that a good portion of the current hospitalizations may still be driven by Delta infections. The agency said the data includes modeled projection that may differ from weighted estimates generated at later dates. (Reporing by Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Aditya Soni and Shailesh Kuber) View the full article

ApretudeFDA Approves Injectable PrEP Treatment The FDA gave the green light to a new injectable form of the HIV treatment pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) last week. The injection, named Apretude, will be available for use by at-risk adults and teens that weigh a minimum 77 pounds and test negative for HIV prior to treatment. the treatment’s approval comes after two double-blind studies found that patients that took Apretude were 90% less likely of contracting HIV as compared to study participants that took oral PrEP treatment Truvada. There is also hope that Apretude will boost adherence levels as well since it doesn’t have to be taken daily. Apretude is administered in two initial shots one month apart and subsequent injections every two months afterward. Unlike Greene claims, Kwanzaa itself isn’t a religion nor is it commonly characterized as a religious celebration. Created in 1966 by California State University, Long Beach African Studies department chair Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa is a holiday festival that encourages Black individuals to celebrate African traditions and heritage. Greene expectedly didn’t cry “pandering” when Donald Trump posted “Happy Kwanzaa” messages during his presidency. HIV Treatment: Previously on Towleroad FDA OKs Every 2 Months PrEP Jab to Prevent HIV; Qatar Bans Rainbow Toys; Trump Surrogate Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Kwanzaa ‘Fake Religion’ Brian Bell December 28, 2021 Read More Omicron Result Of COVID HIV Connect, Mutated in Immune-Suppressed Untreated Person With HIV; ‘Most Plausible Origin Story’; ‘Pretty Good Bet’; Top Scientists Agree. Get Tested, Treated. Michael Goff December 7, 2021 Read More Black AIDS Groups Meet With DaBaby, Praise Rapper for Participation, While Founder Makes Unrelated Calls for Black AIDS Board to Resign Brian Bell September 2, 2021 Read More Veteran Atlanta Activist Becomes First Black Trans Woman Ever Named to Presidential HIV/AIDS Council Brian Bell August 24, 2021 Read More Possible HIV Treatment OK’d To expand Phase 1 Human Trials After Stopping HIV in Lab; Brian Bell August 18, 2021 Read More Moderna HIV Vaccine Phase 1 Human Trials to Start as Early as Next Week. Hope to Build on mRNA Learnings Brian Bell August 13, 2021 Read More Photo courtesy of Viiv Healthcare View the full article

Published by AFP Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee, known for directing ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ and the HBO series ‘Big Little Lies’, has died at age 58 Montreal (AFP) – Award-winning Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee has died at age 58, his publicist announced Sunday. “Rest In Peace, Jean-Marc Vallee. The world is far less interesting without you in it,” Hive Communication Collective wrote on Instagram. The Quebecois producer and director was Oscar-nominated for “Dallas Buyers Club” in 2013, for which actors Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto both took home Academy Awards. In recent years, he has drawn acclaim for his work on HBO shows “Big Little Lies”, for which he won an Emmy award, and “Sharp Objects”. US media reported that Vallee died suddenly in his cabin near Quebec City over the weekend. The cause of death was not immediately known. HBO said it was “shocked at the news of his sudden death.” “Jean-Marc Vallee was a brilliant, fiercely dedicated filmmaker,” the company’s statement to The Hollywood Reporter said. “Jean-Marc stood for creativity, authenticity and trying things differently,” Vallee’s producing partner Nathan Ross said in a statement shared with US media. “The maestro will sorely be missed but it comforts knowing his beautiful style and impactful work he shared with the world will live on.” His other notable works included the Oscar-winning 2009 film “The Young Victoria” starring Emily Blunt and “Wild” in 2014, for which Reese Witherspoon earned an Oscar nomination. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi ZURICH (Reuters) – People in Switzerland will be able to legally change gender by a visit to the civil registry office from Jan. 1, putting the country at the forefront of Europe’s gender self-identification movement. Switzerland joins Ireland, Belgium, Portugal and Norway as one of the few countries on the continent that allow a person to legally change gender without hormone therapy, medical diagnosis or further evaluation or bureaucratic steps. Under the new rules written into Switzerland’s civil code, anyone aged 16 and above who is not under legal guardianship will be able to adjust their gender and legal name by self-declaration at the civil registry office. Younger people and those under adult protection will require guardian consent. This marks a change from the current set of regionally prescribed standards in Switzerland, which often require a certificate from a medical professional confirming an individual’s transgender identity. Some cantons – semi-autonomous regions in federal Switzerland – also require a person to undergo hormone treatment or anatomical transition in order to legally change gender, while, for a name change, proof could be required that the new name has already been unofficially in use for several years. Switzerland, long known as socially conservative in the main, voted in September to legalise civil marriage https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swiss-vote-allowing-same-sex-marriage-referendum-2021-09-26 and the right to adopt children for same-sex couples, one of the last countries in Western Europe to do so. With the new gender change rules, Switzerland joins just two dozen countries worldwide aiming to decouple gender choice from medical procedures. While some other European nations including Denmark, Greece and France have removed the requirement of medical procedures, including sex reassignment surgery, sterilisation or psychiatric evaluation, their rules require further steps or conditions. Spain in June approved a draft bill https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/spains-government-approves-first-draft-gender-self-identification-bill-2021-06-29 allowing anyone over the age of 14 to change gender legally without a medical diagnosis or hormone therapy. Germany in 2018 became the first European government to introduce a third gender https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-lgbt-rights-idUSKBN1L1221 option but in June 2021 shot down two bills aiming to introduce gender self-identification. A new transgender member of parliament is hoping to address https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/two-transgender-women-win-seats-german-parliament-2021-09-27 that. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Mark Heinrich) View the full article